Balboa Island and Beyond-Coastal Tour

Happy Monday folks! Welcome to another trip down the Sunset Coast. My aunt was visiting last week from San Jose. She lives in California, but she had never been to the cute touristy destination called Balboa Island. So, my mother and I took her on a little day tour that included lunch in Newport Beach, Balboa Island, a drive through Corona Del Mar and a stop at the fabulous Roger's Gardens.

Come along for the tour! It's picture heavy.. we saw so much we were pretty over stimulated with fantastic shopping and sites.

My mom, Joan and her 'baby' sister Aunt Vonnie

First stop was lunch at Alta Coffee in Newport Beach. This is a funky little place with outdoor seating, visiting art displays and yummy food! They have frequent entertainment, poetry readings and open mike nights. Nothing fancy, but fresh and tasty coffee, bakery goods and food is found here.

After visiting the local art gallery and lunch, we drove on to Balboa Island.

Balboa Island is in Newport Beach. It's an idyllic vacation and year round place. It has the requisite 'main street' lined with shops and restaurants. There are gorgeous waterfront homes on the harbor, huge yachts, as well as quaint old cottages. Have a look !

Photos weren't allowed in here, but my favorite shop is Art for the Soul.. full of painted furniture, artwork, jewelry and one of a kind creations.

Fantastic homes with inviting decks along the canals and streets beckon you to walk and gawk.

After a little tour of Balboa Island, we drove south to see Corona Del Mar, 'The Crown of the Sea'. The photo at the beginning of this post, above, is the ocean view.. ridiculously awesome!

 This is a really upscale Orange County neighborhood. Just a drive along the ocean front homes is amazing. I hadn't seen this home, below, before. I think it was constructed on 3 or 4 ocean front lots. I don't know who owns this, but you can only imagine what something like this would cost. The home looked like a movie set or something out of Fantasyland in Disneyland.



Handcrafted gate is great! A note about the banner. There is a current controversy about keeping the beach fire pits or not. People are complaining of the smoke and pollution they produce. Apparently, this home owner wants to save them!

 All these photos are of one home! All the rocks in the landscape were brought in and the home looks all hand constructed with huge timbers. I didn't do Corona Del Mar justice with photos, I got caught up with that one outrageous house.

Roger's Gardens wall of succulents~ Awesome aged planters!

 Next, one more stop on the sunset coasting tour, Roger's Gardens. Roger's is a retail nursery but so much more. We barely looked at plants because the shops are so wonderful! The shops are filled with home accessories, indoor plants, candles, pots and other unique items. More Photos!

Fuschia Filled Treescapes!

Lovely Orchids in many colors..

Flowers and pots and candles under a coveted wood shaded chandelier!

Capitivating flower displays beneath a twig Chandy!

Glass displays overlooking the outside gardens.

Patriotic tablescapes anyone?

An abundance of red, white and blue pillows!

Unique dishes! These are not glued together, they're made this way!

French inspired garden goodies!

All in all, it was a beautiful day to be a tourist along the Orange County coastline! Great sites, great company and good memories were made. Where do you like to take a day trip where you live?

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you'll join my site !
Have a trippy day!
Cindy


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